Apparatus for discharging collapsible tubes.



C. V. FOLAND. APPARATUS FOR DISCHARGING COLLAPSIBLE TUBES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 27. 1915.

Patented May 29, 1917.

QVFLZQM,

' citizen of the United States,

. ITE s arrnnarns m nrsennnerne m antime Laces.

Application filed March 27, tart. Serial no. we

To all whom it may concern I Be it known that I, CLARKE-VIFOLAND, a

Bluefield, in the county of Mercer and State of West Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements n Apparatus for Discharging Collapsible Tubes;

and I do hereby declare the-followin to be a full, clear, and exact descriptlon 0 the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertams to make and use the same. r This invention relates to devices for I115- charging or extracting the contents from collapsible tubes, and the primary ob ect of the invention is to provide a device of this nature which will squeeze a collaps1ble tube, from the closed end, toward the open end for. efficiently. forcing the contents out of the tube, and further to provide a device which is an improvement over the applicaw tion for Letters Patent,-Serial No. 863,500, filed September 25,1914.

Another object of this invention 1s to provide a flexible ribbon, WhlCh has a bucklesecured to one end thereof, for detachable connection with the closed end of a collapsible tube, for drawing the same downwardly between a pair of compressin rollers, upon the winding of the flexible rifibon or member about a third roller which forms a key roller for drawing the closed end of a collapsible tube downwardly between the compressing rollers for discharging the contents of the tube from the open end of the same.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for preventing reverse rotation of the key roller.

The apparatus further forms a support for holding collapsible tubes in a vertical position, thereby preventin the leakage or dripping of the contents 0 the tube.

With the foregoing and other objects in view this invention consists in such novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and claimed.

Tn-descmbing the invention in'detail reference will be had to the accompanying drawings'wherein like characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the 'imresiding at I .ratus as an entirety,

' ported thereby, rollers 2 I Specification of hetters Patent Palteljltted Mary 29, 191 F.

proved apparatus for-"discharging collap-.

sible tubes,f

Fig. 2is'a cross sectional view through Fig. 1, l

- Fig. 3- is a detail view, showing the, flexible member connected to the collapsible tube, and

' Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view on the line 4-4of Fig. -3.

Referring more particularly to the drawgngs, 1 designates the body of the appawhich has a pair of compresslon rollers 2 and 3 rotatably supported thereby, in parallel spaced relation w th each other, as is clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The supporting body 1 has a third roller 4 rotatably Supand positioned beneath the and 3.- The' roller 4 is provided with a diametrically disposed slot 5 extending longitudinally therein. The roller 4 has a stub shaft 6 formed upon one end thereof, which projects out of one of the sidesyof the body 1 and has a head 7 mounted upon its outer end, to which is connected a plurality of radially extending rods 8, rotation of the shaft 6 and the roller 4.

- The shaft 6 has a ratchet 9 mounted thereon, the peripheral ratchet teeth of which are provided forengagement with the pointed end 10 of the pawl 11. The pawl 11 is pivotally supported, as at 12, to the body 1, and it has its end 13, opposite to the pointed end thereof, weighted, for holding-the pointed end 10 of the pawl in engagement with teeth of the ratchet verse rotation of roller 4.

The roller 2 has a stub shaft 14 secured to its ends which are rotatably supported in arcuate slots 15'formed in the ends of the body, to permit of the movement of the rollers outwardly from the roller 3, as is indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2 of the drawings, for facilitating the removal of a flexible tube, indicated at 16, from between the rollers.

The lower closed end 17, of the flexible tube 16, is bent about the central cross bar 18 of a buckle structure 19. The buckle structure 19 is secured to a flexible'ribbon 20, as is shown at 21, in Fig. 4 of the drawings, and it extends downwardly therefrom, hav- 9, for preventmg a rethe shaft 6 and the provided for facilitating the manual one of the peripheral ing its lower end inserted through the opening 5, which is formed in the key roller 4, for winding the flexible ribbon 20 about the key roller 4, upon rotation of the latter, for

forcing the flexible tube downwardly between the compressing rollers 2 and 3. The buckle structure 19 includes the central ra1l or bar 18, about which the closed end of the flexible tube is mounted, an upper cross bar 22, and the lower cross bar 23 to whlch the ribbon or flexible member 20 is connected.

The top cross bar 22 engages the flexible" that it will pass upon the roller ina level manner, eliminati an outstanding obstruction, such as woul be formed by a straight buckle. v

When it is desiredto discharge the contents from the tube 16, the lower closed end 17 of the same is attached to the buckle structure 19, as heretofore described, and the buckle and the ribbon 20 are passed downwardly between the rollers 2 and 3, after which the lower end ofthe ribbon is inserted through the slot 5 formed in the key roller 4. Rotation of the key roller 4, will wind the ribbon 20 about the roller, and force or draw the flexible tube 16 downwardly between the com'ressing rollers 2 and 3, squeezing the tu e and forcing the contents of the same upwardly out'of the open end of the tube. The ratchet 9 is disposed so as to permit of a winding rotation of the ribbon 20 upon the roller 4, and the pointed end 10 of the pawl 11 engaging the peripheral teeth of the ratchet, will prevent an unwmding rotation of the roller, and hold the flexible tube 16 firmly'between the rollers 2 and 3,: so that' upon a limited rotation of the roller 4, a part of the contents of the flexible tube may be forced therefrom.

side of the tube, as

When it is desiredto remove the tube 16 from connection to the squeezing apparatus the roller 2 may bemoved'upwardly and outwardly, by moving the stub shaft '14 upwardly w1th1n the arcuate slot 15;, which. will position it away fromthe roller 3,'an'd v the pawl 11. o erated for: movement out of engagement with the-ratchet 9, after which 1 the roller 4 may be rotated in an unwinding position, untilthe buckle. 19 has passed upwardly between the rollers 2 and 3, at which point the lower closed end" 17 of the tube m y another tube attached thereto.

be disconnected from the buckle, and esi tain -minor eatures of construction, coni- I bination, and arrangement of arts mayne I cessitate alteration to which t e patentee is'fl entitled, provided such alterations are comprehendedf within the. scope, of i What? is claimed. p

,What' is claimed is:

The combination with a collapsible tube,"

of a body, a pair of parallel compression rollers journaledto said body and receiving the tube, means by which one of the rollers may be moved toward'and from the other roller, a roller journaled in said body and having a longitudinally extending groove therein, said tube having its lower end bent upon itself to formv a loop, a central bar extending through the loop, curved side members formed on the-ends of the bar, an upper bar connecting the u per ends of the members and bearing aga nst the ends of the tube to bind it against the body of the tube, a

lower bar connecting the lower ends of the members, and a ribbon passedabout the lower bar and having 1ts ends inserted through the longitudinally extending groove. to establish a flexible connection between the- CLARKE v. FOLAND.

Witness W. G. DAVIS. 

